Some medical instruments are used for determining the body temperature of patients. These medical instruments typically employ a probe that includes at least one temperature sensitive element that is disposed within an interior cavity of the probe. The probe is inserted into a body site of interest, such as the axilla (arm pit), the mouth, the ear, the rectum, or other medical target of interest, and the body temperature is determined via an output of the temperature sensitive element, which can be implemented as a thermocouple, thermistor, thermopile, or other suitable type of transducer.
In order to prevent contamination between patients, a flexible speculum (protective shield) can be disposed onto the exterior of the probe. The speculum is typically a hollow plastic member that is typically injection molded to the desire configuration, however, other well known processes can be employed. Many of these devices also contain some type of latching mechanism for removably connecting the device to a medical instrument.